Update: Section 5 Transmission Inquiry Suspended

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Warren Brazier

Following up on an earlier blog post, on Tuesday, the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources sent a letter to the British Columbia Utilities Commission advising it that the Section 5 Transmission Inquiry has been suspended until May 31, 2010.

Here is a copy of the Minister's letter to the BCUC.

As the Minister explains in his letter, the reason for the suspension is in part due to the role of the Green Energy Advisory Task Force which is currently sitting and the Government's consideration and policy responses to the impending recommendations from the Task Force as they relate to the development of the electricity industry and thus, BC's long-term transmission and generation infrastructure needs.
 
New terms of reference for the Inquiry are expected from the Minister before May 31, 2010.
 
As a member of the Green Energy Advisory Task Force, I cannot provide any further comment on this recent development.
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Update: BCUC Section 5 Transmission Inquiry - On Hold

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Warren Brazier

On Friday, the BCUC notified intervenors that all future scheduled workshops and regional sessions for the Section 5 Transmission Inquiry were postponed pending further notification. Here is a copy of the BCUC's notice.

Today, the Vancouver Sun reported that the temporary halt to the 7 month old transmission inquiry is believed to be based on the government's desire to properly align its interests with those of BC Hydro and BCTC on matters relating to the development and export of green power in the province and the recent rulings made by the BCUC.

The Inquiry has encountered lengthy delays for a number of reasons, including as a result of delays in the provision of key evidence, by important first nations consultation issues and more recently, by an intervenor proposal that would see a first nations advisory panel being formed.

Obviously, stay tuned, there is much more to come on this.

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Update: BCUC Section 5 Transmission Inquiry

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Warren Brazier

Following up from our earlier blog post on the Section 5 Transmission Inquiry, after almost four months of workshops and procedural conferences, the BCUC continues to narrow the scope of the issues for the Inquiry. Stakeholder consultation is on-going and the two principal utility participants are holding workshops and inviting comments from participants on specific issues (BC Hydro on resource option potential and BCTC on its scenario development process and the export study) before September 18 when the first draft "evidence" is submitted by BC Hydro and BCTC.

Two weeks ago, after an uncomfortably long but ultimately productive oral hearing on the scope of issues for the Inquiry, the BCUC released its preliminary determinations on the scope and scale for the next steps in the long-term analysis of the transmission system. The issues addressed in the BCUC's July 10 letter on preliminary determinations focused mainly on the following issues: 

  • provincial generation potential
  • domestic electricity demand
  • interjurisdictional trade (import and export of electricity)
  • analysis of the transmission system
  • areas inappropriate for development
  • integration of generation, demand and transmission requirement
As you can see, the issues are very broad and the analysis at a very high-level.
 
Yesterday, over 200 participants attended a BC Hydro workshop in Vancouver on the Province's renewable energy resource option potential. BC Hydro's presentation included a series of renewable energy resource maps of the Province showing potential sites for run-of-river, large hydro and pumped storage, wind, geothermal, biomass, solar and, wave and tidal. BC Hydro also provided detailed maps on so-called "exclusion areas" (ie, legal no build zones) and potential regional power clusters. I found the maps to to be very very interesting, albeit not particularly site specific. If you interested in where the renewable energy potential is in British Columbia you have to check out these maps (I am told the materials will be available on the BC Hydro site sometime soon).  BC Hydro has asked that stakeholders provide it with confidential comments on BC Hydro's version of the Province's resource option potential by August 14. Stakeholders may also submit their own comments directly to the BCUC through the Inquiry process. 
 
There is also a significant First Nations element to the Inquiry. The first issue which the BCUC is addressing in this regard, is the duty to consult and accommodate First Nations in the context of the Inquiry. I won't at this time get into the complex legal issues on the subject, but a further procedural conference on First Nations issues is scheduled at the BCUC on August 18 and 19, 2009 and written submissions are now being made.

With over 105 registered participants, the Section 5 Transmission Inquiry is certainly one of the most followed hearings ever before the BCUC, and one of the more interesting, especially with respect to the future development of renewable energy resources in this Province.

By way of background, the BCUC, based on Terms of Reference established by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, is to make determinations with respect to BC's electrical transmission and capacity needs for a 30-year period, commencing April 2009.  See also the BCUC's Section 5 webpage.

Public participation is a key component of the Inquiry and is open to interested individuals and organizations. If you wish to participate, you can register on the BCUC's website, as an intervenor (active participant) or interested party (receive notice of final orders).

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The Future of Green Power Generation and Electricity Transmission in British Columbia

Posted on April 3, 2009 by Warren Brazier

Next up at the British Columbia Utilities Commission, is the "Section 5 Transmission Inquiry" on electricity transmission in the Province.  Section 5 of the Utilities Commission Act directs the BCUC to conduct an inquiry  to make determinations with respect to BC's long-term (30 Year)infrastructure requirements for electricity transmission. 

As suggested by the Section 5 Transmission Inquiry Terms of Reference, the general purpose of the Inquiry is assess the future electricity demand in BC and the region, examine BC's renewable energy potential, assess the economic benefits that would occur from that infrastructure development, determine the potential future market opportunities to export clean and renewable electricity to other jurisdictions and then determine the transmission infrastructure necessary to access BC's clean, renewable and low-carbon electricity supply.  

The BCUC has scheduled two initial pre-Inquiry meetings at the BCUC Hearing Room (12th Floor, 1125 Howe Street, Vancouver), as follows: a preliminary workshop on Friday, April 17, 2009 and a procedural conference on Monday, April 27, 2009.  Both events are open to all who are interested, but you must first register with the BCUC.

Also, if you are interested in participating as an intervenor in the Inquiry itself you are asked to register by May 1, 2009. This can be done online via the BCUC's registration webpage. For further information, here is the BCUC's Filing Protocol for Intervenors and Interested Parties.

You can visit the Section 5 Inquiry webpage for more information now and during the course of Inquiry. You will find that the BCUC does a great job of updating its website on a timely basis with materials from the various hearings.  

Given the current discourse on power generation in this Province, the Section 5 Inquiry does not come at a better time. Here is a forum that will allow the many stakeholders to voice their various issues on the future of BC power generation and transmission in a public and controlled environment. Green energy and its related transmission requirements are two of the most important issues facing the Province today. So you can be sure the BCUC is going to be very busy over the next year. A draft report must be issued by the BCUC to the Government by June 2010.

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